Educational Galaxy

Changing the Typical Picture — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 6)  |  Chapter 2  |  Medium: English

Section: Visual Arts

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): Leaves, stones and flowers arranged for nature observation and colour-making. A general teaching picture about nature study; the objects are examples, not book pictures.

A child painting outdoors with natural colours. A general picture about painting from nature; no real child is pictured.

What the chapter is about

This chapter will immerse you in the wonders of nature. You will step outdoors to discover many beautiful shapes, forms, colours, patterns and textures in other life forms. You will learn to record these details through drawing and painting activities. You will also learn the fascinating process of making your own natural colours, along with techniques of creating colour tints and shades. This chapter will inspire you to think creatively and change the way you see the world.

Take your drawing book and a pencil, and step outdoors to explore your surroundings. First, look up at the sky and feel its vastness. Make a note of the colours you see, or the form of the clouds. Second, look at the ground. Observe the colour of the soil, the different kinds of stones, pebbles and small rocks. Touch and feel their texture. Are they smooth, rough, bumpy, grainy, or of some other texture? Third, find a spot where there are some plants and trees. Gently touch the plant and feel the texture of its leaves, stems, barks, flowers, seed pods and anything else that you see. Try to draw those textures, or make a note of them through words. Fourth, closely observe the shapes of leaves and the lines and patterns you see. Draw three leaves which have different shapes, lines and patterns. Make a note of their colours. Fifth, closely observe any animals, birds or insects. Are they sitting, sleeping, standing or moving? Try to draw their form. Gather in a group, and share your drawings and observations. Start a visual journal, and make drawings every day of the different things you see.

Spend two to three minutes imagining that you are surrounded by nature. What all do you see? How do different things feel when you touch them? What do you feel under your feet? How far can you see? Is anything moving? What do you hear? How do you feel when you are surrounded by trees, plants, hills, streams, sea and sand? Make small groups of four to five students and share your imaginations with one another. Visit a museum, an artist's studio, or any place where artists work. Note down your observations based on these questions: what kind of visual artworks do you see? What are the materials used in making the artwork? Who are the artists? What tools and techniques do they use? How is the space arranged for making or displaying artwork? What new ideas or experiences did you get? Draw from your own experience, or you can use the pictures in the book as a reference.

Have you ever wondered where colours come from? How are they made? What did artists use before we had colour pencils, crayons and paints in readymade boxes? Think of the food you eat. When turmeric is cooked at home, what is added to make it more yellow? Turmeric! What do you call it at home in your language? Now, think of other food that you have eaten. Some of their colours stain your fingers, your tongue, and even your clothes if you spill them. Similarly, flowers can also be used to extract colour. Apart from plants, colours can also be made from soil, stones and mineral deposits. These processes have been used by people to prepare colours for various artistic purposes. Write a list of some fruits, vegetables, leaves and roots in your food which give colour when you crush or cook them.

Source some materials from the Earth or plants. Discuss the process of preparing colour with your teacher and peers, and prepare your colours together. Plan and experiment with fruit, roots, charcoal and so on. The sourced pigments are finely powdered and filtered to remove impurities. A binder is added to the powder in the correct proportion. This helps the colour stick to the surface they are painted on. Gum arabic (sap from the bark of a babul tree), oils, milk, egg white and egg yolk are some natural binders. The prepared colour is applied to the artwork. After everyone has completed their artwork, have a classroom display of the artwork. Label your artwork with a title and details of the material you have used. You can also display and share some of your preparatory sketches or experiments that show the process of your work. Discuss the process and colours that are seen in everyone's artwork. Think about a colour that can be used in your artwork. Create your artwork using the natural colours. Experiment with different colour combinations from the colours you have prepared. The book shows black charcoal and a blue lapis lazuli stone as examples of colour sources.

Have you observed how your moods change throughout the day? Spend five minutes recollecting your moods and talking about them: what is your mood when you go home after school? What is your mood at dinner time? What is your mood before going to bed? What is your mood when you wake up in the morning? What is your mood now? Moods and feelings last for some time and gradually change. They might feel strong and intense, or mild. Colours are like that too. We can make them vibrant, intense, dark, pale, light, mild, and so on. Have you observed the colours of your clothes fade over time due to sunlight and repeated washing? They change from bright to dull, or dark to light. In art, these variations in colour are called tints and shades. We create colour tints by adding white to any colour. We create colour shades by adding black to any colour. Think of how colours change in the sky during a sunrise or sunset.

Use the colour tints and shades you have created as a reference. Find pictures of artworks from a museum website or illustrated books that also have the same colour tints and shades in the pictures. Observe how the tints or shades are enhancing the moods and emotions of the artwork. Repeat this exercise with four to five different colours and their tints and shades. Note down a short description of the moods and emotions you have experienced with the colour tints and shades. Take colour pages from old newspapers or magazines, and find the different shades and tints of colours to create a paper mosaic. Have you ever marvelled at the variety of colours in nature? Step outside and look for three leaves that are of three different shades or colours. Try mixing various colours to get the closest shade you see. You will need plain paper to draw and colour (water colours, poster colours or powder colours), black, white, and two or three other colours.

You have learnt that colours can be made from nature. Before the invention of paper, artists used to paint on natural surfaces like rocks, walls of caves, mud plaster, palm leaves, wood and cloth. They also used terracotta, stone, animal bone, leather, wood, metal and fibre to craft a variety of three-dimensional objects and sculptures. They invented special tools and developed techniques for working with each material and surface. If you did not have paper, which surfaces and materials would you choose for your artwork? Carry out your own experiments and make your artwork. Look at the examples in the book: Bhimbetka rock paintings on rock surfaces; Ajanta Caves wall paintings; dry palm leaf surfaces; Kolam floor art made with rice flour; and Kalamkari cloth art made with natural dyes and earth colours. Now you know that artists observe their environment closely and capture the finer details. Each artist has their own imagination and makes their own choices in the material, tools and techniques they use. This is what makes their work unique. Like an artist, you can also use your own imagination. You can choose materials and tools that are suitable for your own ideas. Nature is your inspiration and you are the creator. Include your own experiences and observations. It does not have to be a mountain or a river or the sun. You decide what represents nature for you. It could be something much closer, from your immediate surroundings. Remember, the picture should be through your eyes!

What you should learn

• Explore outdoors: sky, ground, plants, leaves, animals — and keep a visual journal.
• Make natural colours: source, powder, filter, add a binder, paint, display.
• Make tints (add white) and shades (add black), and use them in a paper mosaic.
• Name pre-paper surfaces and materials, with Bhimbetka, Ajanta, Kolam, Kalamkari.

Try it: explore outdoors

1. Look up at the sky, feel its vastness, and note the colours and the form of the clouds.
2. Look at the ground: soil colour, stones, pebbles, small rocks; touch and feel their texture.
3. Find plants and trees; gently touch leaves, stems, barks, flowers and seed pods, and note their textures.
4. Draw three leaves with different shapes, lines and patterns, and note their colours.
5. Observe animals, birds or insects — sitting, sleeping, standing or moving — and draw their form.
6. Share drawings and observations in a group, and start a visual journal with a drawing every day.

Try it: make a natural colour

1. Source materials from the Earth or plants, and discuss the process with your teacher and peers.
2. Finely powder the sourced pigment and filter it to remove impurities.
3. Add a binder in the correct proportion, for example gum arabic, oil, milk, egg white or egg yolk.
4. Apply the prepared colour to your artwork, and experiment with colour combinations.
5. Label your artwork with a title and the material used, and display it in the classroom.

Chart / Table: Colour sources and surfaces in the book

Example	Surface	Colour / material
Bhimbetka	Rock surface	Earth colours
Ajanta Caves	Wall surface	Natural colours
Dry palm leaf	Leaf surface	Natural colours
Kolam	Floor surface	Rice flour
Kalamkari	Cloth surface	Natural dyes

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Go outdoors and note the sky, ground and one plant's textures.
   Hint: Sky, soil, stones, leaves, bark.
2. Draw three leaves with different shapes, lines and patterns.
   Hint: Note their colours too.
3. List foods that give colour when crushed or cooked.
   Hint: Turmeric, flowers, fruits, roots.
4. Make a tint and a shade of one colour.
   Hint: White for tint, black for shade.
5. Make a paper mosaic from old newspaper colour pages.
   Hint: Find different tints and shades.

Questions with Answers

1. What do you observe outdoors, and what is a visual journal?
   Look at the sky (vastness, colours, cloud forms), the ground (soil colour, stones, pebbles, small rocks, textures: smooth, rough, bumpy, grainy), plants and trees (textures of leaves, stems, barks, flowers, seed pods), leaf shapes, lines and patterns (draw three different leaves, note colours), and animals, birds or insects (sitting, sleeping, standing or moving, draw their form). Share drawings and observations in a group, and start a visual journal: drawings every day of the different things you see.
2. Where do colours come from, and what did artists use before readymade colours?
   Colours come from plants (fruits, vegetables, leaves, roots, flowers), soil, stones and mineral deposits; food colours stain fingers, tongue and clothes, and turmeric makes food more yellow. Before readymade boxes of colour pencils, crayons and paints, artists prepared colours themselves from these sources for various artistic purposes.
3. What are the steps of preparing a natural colour?
   Source materials from the Earth or plants, and discuss the process with your teacher and peers. Finely powder the sourced pigment and filter it to remove impurities. Add a binder in the correct proportion (gum arabic from babul tree bark, oils, milk, egg white or egg yolk) so the colour sticks to the surface. Apply the prepared colour to the artwork, experiment with colour combinations, label the artwork with a title and the material used, and display it in the classroom, discussing everyone's process and colours.
4. What are tints and shades, and how are they used?
   Tints are made by adding white to any colour; shades are made by adding black to any colour. They change from bright to dull or dark to light, like clothes fading in sunlight and washing, or colours changing in the sky at sunrise and sunset. Use your tints and shades as a reference to find artworks with the same tints and shades, observe how they enhance moods and emotions, repeat with four to five colours, and make a paper mosaic from old newspaper or magazine colour pages showing different tints and shades.
5. What surfaces and materials did artists use before paper?
   Surfaces: rocks, walls of caves, mud plaster, palm leaves, wood and cloth. Materials for three-dimensional objects and sculptures: terracotta, stone, animal bone, leather, wood, metal and fibre. Examples in the book: Bhimbetka rock paintings, Ajanta Caves wall paintings, dry palm leaf, Kolam floor art with rice flour, and Kalamkari cloth art with natural dyes.

Extension questions with answers — covering more NCERT exercise types

1. What are the five questions for a museum or artist's studio visit?
   1. What kind of visual artworks do you see? 2. What materials are used in making the artwork? 3. Who are the artists, and what tools and techniques do they use? 4. How is the space arranged for making or displaying artwork? 5. What new ideas or experiences did you get?
2. What does the chapter say about your own imagination?
   Each artist has their own imagination and makes their own choices in material, tools and techniques, which makes their work unique. Like an artist, you can choose materials and tools suitable for your own ideas. Nature is your inspiration and you are the creator, and the picture should be through your eyes — it does not have to be a mountain, a river or the sun.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.